Background: The COVID-19 virus outbreak had a massive effect on many parts of people's lives, as they were advised to quarantine and lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading, which had a big impact on people's mental health, anxiety, and stress. Many internal and external factors lead to stress. This negatively influences the body's homeostasis. As a result, stress may affect the body's capacity to use energy to defend against pathogens. Many recent investigations have found substantial links between human mental stress and the production of hormones, prohormones, and/or immunological chemicals. some of these researches have verified the link between stress and salivary cortisol levels. The aim of this study is to measure salivary cortisol as a stress biomarker as well as a total viable count of salivary bacterial microbiome among COVID-19 patients. Materials and methods: a sample of 84 adults patients was collected who were divided into two groups: the COVID-19 group consists of 42 patients and the COVID-19 free group which consists of 42 subjects. All subjects undergo a PCR test to confirm their health status. The collection of Un-stimulated saliva was done. Laboratory investigations were carried out to measure the total viable count of the salivary bacterial microbiome by culturing on Brain Heart Infusion Agar and to evaluate the salivary cortisol level using cortisol kit (Elecsys Cortisol II). Results: SPSS version 21 was used for statistical analysis. According to the statistical analysis, the salivary cortisol and total viable count of salivary bacterial microbiome values were substantially greater in the COVID-19 group than in the COVID-19 free group. Conclusion: A positive association was found between salivary cortisol and the total viable count of the salivary bacterial microbiome. So, when the concentration of salivary cortisol is elevated in the COVID-19 group, the level of the total viable count of the salivary bacterial microbiome is also elevated.
ABSTRACT Background: stress is the reactions of the body to forces of a deleterious nature, infections and various abnormal states that tend to disturb its normal physiological equilibrium; It is described as adverse emotions or reactions to unpleasant experiences; Thus, any real or perceived physical, social, or psychological event or stimulus that causes bodies to react or respond have deleterious effects on the general and oral health. The aims of this study were to assess the severity of dental caries among the students with different categories of stressful life events in relation to physicochemical characteristics of whole stimulated saliva. Materials and Methods: the total sample is composed of 300 students (males only) aged 17-18 ye
... Show MoreBackground: Ulcerative colitis disease is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract. In regulation of this inflammatory process, Interleukin-6, C-reactive proteins and albumin have a major role. Overproduction of IL-6 by immunocompetent cells contributes to activate the liver to produce CRP, transudation of plasma albumin and development of the inflammatory condition. Elevated levels of IL-6 in saliva could be expected, because the saliva-producing cells are part of the digestive system. The purpose of this study was to assess salivary IL-6, CRP and albumin in ulcerative colitis patients in relation to oral findings. Materials and methods: Forty eight saliva specimens collected from three groups of subjects (s
... Show MoreThe rapid spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in 2019 infected many people, primarily affecting the respiratory system. Both COVID-19 and type 2 diabetes have been associated with numerous risks that have become life-threatening. The study studied the link between galectin levels and some clinical characteristics in Iraqis with type 2 diabetes and COVID-19 against those without diabetes. The study included 120 patients and healthy men. Three groups were formed for this study depending on the initial mutant cell line: 80 samples of individuals with type 2 diabetes, aged 40–60 years, with and without COVID-19, were included in each of the first and second groups. The control group consisted of 40 research participants who were matched for ag
... Show MoreThis research aims to investigate the approaches adopted by Iraqi newspapers in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Employing a descriptive methodology and survey technique, the study conducts content analysis on articles published in three prominent newspapers: Al-Sabah, Al-Mada, and Tareeq Al-Shaab. A multi-stage sampling method was employed, encompassing 260 issues of the aforementioned newspapers. Data collection involved the use of a content analysis questionnaire, with the "How it was said?" method utilized to determine analysis categories.
The results showed that Al-Sabah newspaper adopted a positive approach in addressing COVID-19-related topics, while Al-Mada newspaper remained neutral, and Tare
Background: Obesity and dental caries are multifactorial diseases related to poor eating habits and show a close relationship with the sociodemographic characteristics of individuals presenting these diseases. This research aimed to investigate the severity of dental caries among group of obese boys aged 12 year in relation to salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) of unstimulated whole saliva in comparison with normal weighted boys of the same age. Materials and Methods: The study group included 40 obese boys, with an age of 12 year. The control group included 40 normal weighted boys of the same age. The total sample involved for nutritional status assessment using Body Mass Index specific for age and gender according t
... Show MoreBackground: The global threat of COVID-19 outbreak and on the 11 March 2020, WHO acknowledged that the virus would likely spread to all countries across the globe and declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic which is the fifth pandemic since 20 century and this has brought human lives to a sudden and complete lockdown and the confirmed cases of this disease and deaths continue to rise in spite of people around the world are taking important actions to mitigate and decrease transmission and save lives. Objectives: To assess the effect of exercise and physical activity on the immunity against COVID-19. Methods: Collected electronic databases including (Medline, EMBASE, Google Scholar, PubMed and Web of Science) were searched with
... Show MoreThe emergence of COVID-19 has resulted in an unprecedented escalation in different aspects of human activities, including medical education. Students and educators across academic institutions have confronted various challenges in following the guidelines of protection against the disease on one hand and accomplishing learning curricula on the other hand. In this short view, we presented our experience in implementing e-learning to the undergraduate nursing students during the present COVID-19 pandemic emphasizing the learning content, barriers, and feedback of students and educators. We hope that this view will trigger the preparedness of nursing faculties in Iraq to deal with this new modality of learning and improve it should t
... Show MoreThis study aimed to find relationship between thymidine kinase-1 (TK-1) as tumor marker and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in Iraqi children patients with thrombocytopenia and with thrombocytosis. The present study conducted 60 children patients (30 patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP) and 30 patients with thrombocytosis caused by leukemia) attending the Children Fever Hospital in the Medical City / Baghdad, and 30 healthy children as a control group. All study groups were with range ages (1-15) years, and they were diagnosed by assay of platelet count, Prothrombin Time (PT), and partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT). The results shown elevation in plasma TK-1 and TAC values in children patients with thrombocytopenia and w
... Show MoreBackground: Chronic periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of tissues supporting the teeth. Salivary compositions have been most intensely studied as a potential marker for periodontal disease. In this study, analysis of saliva provides a simple and non-invasive method of evaluating the role of salivary IgA (s-IgA) levels in periodontal disease by detecting the level of (s-IgA) in patients with chronic periodontitis smokers and non smokers patients and correlate the mean (s-IgA) levels with clinical periodontal parameters Plaque index (PLI) gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL). Materials and Methods: The study samples consists of (15) patients with chronic periodontitis who were non smokers (
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